Sing Me To Sleep
by SpitfireShippersAnonymous
Summary: It's been two sleepless weeks since Wally and Artemis brought their baby girl home from the hospital, and Artemis just wishes she knew what to do to get her to stop crying. Suggested by TheRantDragon


**Disclaimer- We do not own Young Justice or any of it's characters.**

**This was a little something I started on alone, then transferred it over to the collab doc and Veggy helped with the rest of it! :) I couldn't get this cute little idea out of my head! I LOVE fics where Wally and Artemis are expecting and/or have just brought an infant home together, they make my damn heart swell, I swear! :3 Poor mama Artemis though, being a first time mom isn't easy even for HER bamfness!**

**Anyway, on with the fluff and feels! (if this seems familiar, I briefly posted it on my personal account before taking it down to put it here, instead)**

**o.o.o.o**

**_Written by TheRantDragon and IronicVeghead._  
**

**o.o.o.o**

It had been thirty minutes.

He'd alternated between draping a forearm over his eyes and staring up at the ceiling blankly. There were bags under his eyes, and the covers had been pooled down at the bottom of the mattress because it's been sweltering even with the air conditioner on and a fan pointed at the bed. His left arm was stretched out over the empty space where she had been sleeping, his fingers were grasping periodically at the rumpled sheets as the continued wails of their infant belted out of the baby monitor on the night stand. For a long time the soft sounds of his wife trying to sooth their child had filtered in, until eventually her voice was no longer among the baby's.

They haven't had a decent nights sleep for over a week; Wally's sure there will be permanent bags underneath their eyes and they aren't even thirty yet.

The speedster sighed, rubbed his face hopelessly as he sat up. His hair was sticking all over the place and his boxers had slipped down low on his hips, but all he cared about was leaning over and turning that god forsaken baby monitor off(he only thought out of agitation and lack of sleep).

The room fell silent. He took but a moment to revel in the quiet, to peer over at the alarm clock informing him in it's angry red text that it was three in the morning. He rubbed at his face again and stood up, adjusting his shorts before padding out into the hallway and making his way to the nursery just by their bedroom.

The cries that he had drowned out by turning off the monitor were growing louder again as he got closer. Wally brushed the gathered sleep away from his eyes before turning into Evangeline's room. His heart broke at the sight.

Artemis was sitting in the rocking chair with the wailing infant in her arms. She was moving the chair back and forth as much as she could using her shaking legs. And from what he could see beyond the tangled strands of blonde hair hiding her face, her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

"Evie," she whispered hoarsely," Evie, sweetie I'm sorry. I don't know what you want." She held the child close, cradling her gently and pressing her face into the baby's wet cheek, "I tried _everything _sweetheart. What is it?" Her voice cracked.

Wally took a step forward and the sound of the floor creaking alerted his wife to his presence. Her head shot up and a few tears slipped out from the edges of her shimmering eyes, her cheeks flushing with shame.

"_Wally." _

It was an apology and a plea. One he would not ignore. The redhead stepped swiftly across the room and gathered his family into his arms, pressing a kiss to Artemis's temple as she began rambling off explanations.

"I'm so sorry Wally, I can't seem to make her happy. I can't give her what she wants. I don't even know what she wants. I don't know what to do. _I just don't know_," she rasped over Evie's continued cries.

"Shhh..." The speedster pulled away and kept one hand on each of his girls, combing Artemis's frazzled hair back affectionately, "It's fine, babe, we'll figure it out."

"But I don't know what to do," Artemis turned her gaze back to her daughter, her shaking hands brushing the girl's tears away helplessly as more fell into their place, "I don't know."

"Evie," Wally cooed to the girl, taking one of her small hands between his thumb and forefinger, "Quiet please, Princess."

"Wally, I should know what to do to make her happy," The blonde continued, pressing kisses over Evangeline's small tuft of curly yellow hair, "I should know, Wally, I'm her _mother_."

Wally carefully nudged his wife out of the rocking chair and sat himself in it, pulling her (and the baby) onto his lap and holding them close. "Arty, you don't have to know everything." He rubbed a hand across her back, "It's a learning experience, that's what everyone told us."

The archer only shook her head in disagreement and held Evie closer to her chest, whispering softly.

"Have you tried singing to her?" he asked tentatively, resting his head on Artemis's shoulder to peer down at his daughter, whose cheeks had turned a bright shade of red from exertion.

"I..." She took a deep breath to contain her shuddering voice, "I don't know any lullabies."

"It doesn't have to be a lullaby," Wally shrugged. "Evie won't know the difference, will you Princess?," he doted.

Artemis opened her mouth a few times to start a tune, but continued to find herself at a loss. Wally wrapped his arms around them a little tighter and began for her.

"Twinkle twinkle little star," his voice was gruff and off-tune, doing nothing to soothe the whimpering girl. Artemis let a small crack of a smile appear and nudged him in the ribs to shut him up. "Did your mother ever sing anything to you?" he asked kindly, trying to dislodge any memories.

**o.o.o.o**

Artemis let her mind sink into the past as she thought back. She remembered the few times her father had been away and her mother had held her close, singing the words softly into her ear over the sounds of Gotham's nightly madness. The memories were fuzzy and not easily recalled, teasing at the edges of her mind, but she remembered rain pattering against the windows, the soothing sound of Paula Crock's voice drifting into her ears as she cried at the distant boom of thunder.

Her mother had had a surprisingly lovely singing voice.

"Not... not much. I just know bits and pieces of some," she admitted slowly, chest warm and clenched at the uncharacteristically peaceful memory from her childhood.

Artemis continued rocking Evangeline gently in her arms as she began humming what she remembered of her mother's lullaby. The tune acting as an anchor, pulling the words into her mind as she continued.

* "Bây giờ tháng mấy rồi hỡi em ?" She sang softly, her head cuddled close to her daughters, "lênh đênh ngàn mây trôi êm đềm..."

Artemis closed her eyes as she drew herself farther into the song, a smile forming on her face as Evie's cries lessened the more she sang, "Mai đây anh đưa em đi về, mưa giăng chiều nắng tàn." The child nestled her head into her mother's bosom, her tears drying as sleep took hold, "cho buốt lạnh chúng mình."

Evie was fast asleep, snoozing contently in Artemis's arms as the blonde finished the lullaby softly, whispering, as she was sure her mother had done.

She felt the squeeze of Wally's arms around her torso, felt his chapped lips press against her sweaty temple in the glorious silence that followed on the heels of Evie's miniscule breaths.

"Beautiful, babe," he whispered quietly, pressing his nose into that little dip just behind her ear; his breath tickled the skin there. "See? I knew you could do it. You're an amazing mom, and don't you ever forget that."

Artemis sighed wearily and leaned back onto his solid shoulder, feeling as if she could simply fall asleep here, with her husband on the rocker and her curled on his lap with their beautiful, precious Evie resting in her arms.

"I'm afraid to move her," she murmured against him, letting her eyes fall closed so that her lashes brushed feather light on his cheek. "Maybe we can just... sleep like this..."

"... Artemis?"

She didn't answer.

"Artemis, my _back_. I can't sleep like this. _Artemis_," he hissed into her ear, and she couldn't help the betraying smirk that tugged up one corner of her mouth. Reluctantly, she uncurled herself gingerly from his lap, careful to keep Evangeline as stationary as possible while doing so.

So far so good.

As she padded over to the crib, she heard the distinct sound of her speedster standing, stretching and yawning and popping his back very pointedly. She rolled her eyes as she gradually placed their daughter in her bed.

"I know all parents say this, but we make one good looking kid," came Wally's voice as he approached from behind. He put one of his arms around her lithe shoulders and pulled her close to his warmth as they surveyed the small child before them, still sleeping peacefully. Artemis laughed lightly and pressed one of her hands onto his chest, fingers splayed there.

"Thank you, Wally," she whispered. "What would I do without you?"

"Well," he chuckled, turning her to lead the way back to their bed. "For one, you wouldn't have been pregnant in the first place..."

"I'm still trying to figure out whether that's a good thing or a bad thing..." she teased.

"Babe, you and I both know it's the best damn thing that ever happened to us. Now let's get back to bed before _I _start crying from lack of sleep and you have to sing to me... not that I would mind."

**o.o.o.o**

* (Translation of Artemis' lullaby(note the lyrics are taken from different parts of the actual lullaby, and not in order):

_Bây giờ tháng mấy rồi hỡi em _- What month is it, my dear sweet one?

_lênh đênh ngàn mây trôi êm đềm..._- While bobbing clouds gently float by

_Mai đây anh đưa em đi về, mưa giăng chiều nắng tàn. _- I'll take you home on the morrow, braving the rain that blots the sun

_cho buốt lạnh chúng mình. _- And chills us through to the marrow.


End file.
